According to the Chaos Martial Arts website, "BJJ Senior Instructor" Bill Copp "holds a black belt under Scott Lewis." So is Scott Lewis promoting others to BJJ black belt as well as claiming that rank for himself?

Having studied BJJ for 12 years, and currently without a higher rank to teach (Left my instructor last summer for a difference of opinion) i will be a Brown until i find someone else to train under. I've held my brown for five years, and would NEVER give myself a black belt ranking.

I was close to promotion (overdue in my mind), however had some issues i wasn't happy with so left the school.

So to answer the earlier question, no promoting yourself to black belt is not a good idea and you will be called out on it.

Having a simular issue and started a thread about it as well, i will research yours as well, best i can!

Ok I know a lot about the Scott Lewis deal...The fact is that nobody even knows where he got his brown belt from forget about the black. I've been training in NH for a long time now, since he was a purple belt at least, I know this because I was at a seminar he was attending as a purple belt. A couple of months pass and he comes back for another seminar, this time wearing a brown. I overheard him talking about how he got it at the gracie academy in Torrence. Royce comes up for a seminar a month later, he shows up wearing his purple belt to that seminar lol. About a year passes he comes in again, this time with the black belt and I literally heard him say out of his mouth "I have been training long enough, I deserve this." I remember it like how I remember where I was when 9/11 went down. So yeah he gave it to himself, I heard the words come out of the mans mouth.

Ok I know a lot about the Scott Lewis deal...The fact is that nobody even knows where he got his brown belt from forget about the black. I've been training in NH for a long time now, since he was a purple belt at least, I know this because I was at a seminar he was attending as a purple belt. A couple of months pass and he comes back for another seminar, this time wearing a brown. I overheard him talking about how he got it at the gracie academy in Torrence. Royce comes up for a seminar a month later, he shows up wearing his purple belt to that seminar lol. About a year passes he comes in again, this time with the black belt and I literally heard him say out of his mouth "I have been training long enough, I deserve this." I remember it like how I remember where I was when 9/11 went down. So yeah he gave it to himself, I heard the words come out of the mans mouth.

Kimuralock, keep in mind, I know next to nothing about MMA or martial arts except from the perspective of a fan. That said, as a brown belt in BJJ, would you feel comfortable opening up and running your own dojo? I ask because such a school exists in Mobile, AL, and Pensacola, FL. Their location in Morgan City, LA, does not even list a rank for the "head instructor". I don't feel it warrants a full investigation because blue belts as instructors? Seems pretty self-evident. If you're interested, though, it's Team Hopkins affiliates at teamhopkinsgjj.com.

Couple points or counter points I guess. The Gracie sight only shows people who are currently active in that Gracie organization, They don't even have the Gracies listed. Carlos and Renzo Gracie all have their own schools that don't even fall under the Gracie university. If he's not claiming to be an affiliated school then there's nothing wrong in stating you studied somewhere, if it's truth. 2 The site states he won the 2009/ 2010 NAGA New England black belt division expert classes and there's pictures up on the site showing this as valid. Ok he lost to Demente.... but who hasn't?? He's competing against other "legit" black belts and beating them, if that doesn't make you blackbelt level what does? Third Ryron Gracie a 5th dan BB who old a proffessor certificate from Helio himself is conducting a full day seminar there on June 4th, Ryron himself helped found the Gracie university (where Scott Lewis is not listed) I wouldn't believe if there was an issue here that Ryron would conduct a seminar there for the second time in a year. Third I (and this is only my personal opinion) believe that at some point people go their seperate paths. Who gave Bruce Lee his BB in Jeet Kun Do? yo get my point..... At some point you tweak things and make them your own. If Matt Hughes (who is not ranked) and left the Millitech fighting system camp, Today said I'm founding the Hughes Jui Jitsu school and made himself a black belt do you really think anyone would argue. Lineage at some point when something gets popular ends up branching and branching and branching, Here's Eddie Bravo's lineage--Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carlos Gracie, Jr. → Jean Jacques Machado → Eddie Bravo....now look at all the crazy **** they're doing out at 10th planet. My advise to you is if you like the guy and you are learning, then train with him. I will train and try to learn from anyone I feel has knowledge to impart to me blue, purple, brown, black... Muay Tai, BJJ, Arnis, Kempo, Wrestling, Kendo, Akido, Judo whatever.

Finally think of it this way in the Army we never ask someone that is a top notch marksman/ sniper. hey man who taught you to shoot?? We just accept the fact that the dude can put rounds down range effectively. It doesnt matter WHO taught him how to perform at a high level all that matters is that he DOES and does it consistently.....just my two cents